A love letter to ketchup

I love my condiments – so much so that I've earned the nickname Condiment Claire and have written a book on the subject. Because of this, people assume I'm a seasoning snob – that I use only the finest olive oil or gold-speckled salt flakes. They couldn't be more wrong. Despite my French heritage, I can't get enough of ketchup.

I grew up in Los Angeles with a French father and a Greek mother. While my Gallic genes may have informed a penchant for Dijon mustard and the best salted butter, the American upbringing cemented an equal love of tomato sauce. Nothing screams America more than a burger or a hot dog and both foodstuffs need ketchup. In the rare moments I am homesick living in London, all it takes to feel myself again is a burger or a hot dog with a good squirt of classic tomato sauce, yellow mustard and, of course, gherkins. It's hard to imagine eating ketchup and feeling sad. Ketchup is a celebration food, after all. We slather it on sausages at summer barbecues and squirt it on chips with friends all year round.

Flavour comprises smell, colour, texture and, perhaps most importantly, memory and nostalgia. This everyday condiment is not just about nostalgia, though. Ketchup is the introductory condiment – a gateway to flavour. As children, it shows us we can reach for more – that dish isn't just a dish, but a canvas to build upon. From the first shake of that glass bottle of Heinz, we're learning to play with our palate.

Ketchup is derived from kê-tsiap, the Hokkien Chinese word for a simple fish sauce, which made its way west in the 17th century to become walnut or anchovy ketchup. By the mid-1800s, tomato sauce was the favourite. Later that century, American entrepreneur Henry J Heinz added vinegar, a natural preservative, which allowed him to bottle the vibrant sauce in glass. While red is now synonymous with ketchup, in the Philippines banana is the sauce of choise, and before tomatoes arrived in England, we favoured the mushroom variety. Few condiments have evolved so much over time.

Still, for me it will always be tomato ketchup. Whether added to my breakfast bap or poured over a plate of McCain Smiles in the evening, few other condiments have the power to change my mood with a single dollop.

The Condiment Book is out now. Follow Claire on TikTok and Instagram @condimentclaire.